Research On Tort Liability Of Defective Products

The essence of defective products tort liability system lies in the reasonable distribution of risk in the field of products.The particularity of the regulation field,the diversification of the adjustment interests and the complexity of the legal constitution make it become the most controversial department in the field of tort law.With the modification of the Product Quality Law and the issue of Food Safety Law and Tort Liability Law in China,the framework of defective products law standard has been completed.The empty connotation caused by the law transplant needs more in-depth and comprehensive study of comparative law.The gap between theory and practice requires further investigating and integrating the existing legal resources in China.The limitations and divergences of specific rules demand the amendment and development through more detailed legal interpretation work.In this sense,the systemic and fundamental research on the tort liability system of defective products is imperative.This paper attempts to clarify the internal logic of the evolution of products liability system and the transition track of the products risk distribution ideology so as to explore the imputation principle of tort liability of defective products.On this basis,the composition and effect of the tort liability of defective products are expanded to be verified and examined in the juridical practice so as to realize a new balance of China's product liability law.The first chapter investigates the origin,formation and expansion of defective products liability system.In longitudinal direction,the solution path of damage caused by defective products has experienced the evolution from the contract liability to the tort liability.In horizontal direction,there exists the development trend from individual liability to social relief.The modern system of tort liability of defective products has been unified for short due to the establishment of strict liability,and then differentiated because of the regression of the fault theory in local fields.There are development and dissimilation in Chinese product liability system based on the whole transplantation of European and American law.The haste of the legislative process and the roughness of the rule reference of the comparative law lead to confusion and conflict in the current standard system and trigger a lot of difficulties and disputes in practice,which is specifically reflected in the selection and application of the judgment foundation,connotation and identification of product defects,distribution and transfer of the burden of proof,as well as the definition and effect of exemption reasons,etc.The second chapter focuses on discussing the imputation theory of tort liability of defective products.Based on the observation of external system,the current product tort liability system is implemented on the basis of elements of producer faults and product defects.From the perspective of analysis on internal system,producers' behavior liability and product defect liability blend in structure,and the effects of the strict liability of the fault products and the mitigatory non-fault product liability tend to be the same.There are limits in current theories on the legalisation path of strict product liability,and the positioning of defective product tort liability system is ambiguous.Based on the analysis of the nature of risk and the investigation on the thought transition of risk distribution in the field of product damage,the legitimacy of the integrating products liability through risk imputation is becoming increasingly prominent.The imputation theory of tort liability of defective products is the principle of the risk,and the liability is determined according to the attribution of product risk.The method of judging the risk belongs to the risk domain theory.By delimiting a series of considerations in the field of risks,a balanced dynamic evaluation system is established so as to finally determine the distribution of damage.In the third chapter,the core element defects of the tort liability of defective products are discussed.The definition of product defects is usually centered on the lack of reasonable security.The specific methods of defining the rationality are different according to various judgment standard systems,which can generally be divided into the European Union mode and the United States mode.Chinese law takes the characteristic definition of product defects.The misunderstanding of"double-definition" causes a long controversy in theory,and the lack of essential standardized criterion leads to confusion in practice.In order to properly grasp the concept of uncertainty of product defects,the comparative law makes the classification based on different criteria and further refines the specific judgment criteria.According to the causes of the risks,the defects can be divided into three basic types:manufacturing defects,design defects and warning defects.Moreover,on the basis of the property of product risks and approach of risk realization,the risk evaluation can be implemented through different methods so as to determine whether the defect has been constituted.The fourth chapter mainly analyzes the rules of proof in the tort litigation of defective products.Chinese Tort Liability Law does not make special provisions on the distribution of the burden of proof on the tort liability of defective products.Defective products tort litigation should still be applicable to the general principle of distribution of the burden of proof of "who advocates,who proves".However,in view of the particularity of product risk and the complexity of the realization of risk,it is still difficult to identify the product defects and existence of causality in some types of cases.In practice,some courts adopt the method of objective reversion of burden of proof,which excessively enforces the manufacturer's liability.Meantime,it is accompanied by confusion and randomness.Therefore,the standpoint of the standard theory should be strictly abided by to require the victim to preliminarily proof the essential facts of the liability.Moreover,in order to avoid the rigid application of the general rules,the risk domain theory is utilized carry out the elastic treatment so as to determine the rules of easing conditional burden of proof.The fifth chapter deconstructs the special defense reasons in the tort liability of defective products.The victim's fault should affect the scope of the manufacturer's liability.The specific approach can apply the risk ratio rule to determine the burden shares according to the proportion of the risk that all parties should bear the total risk.The fact that whether the product meets the requirements of the mandatory standard is the indirect evidence on the product defect,which is restricted by the risk correlation rules.The specific effect of compliance defense lies in the probative force of compliant evidence.The basic framework of the evaluation criterion of the compliant evidence can be constructed according to the risk domain theory.The elimination of the development risk liability has the staged rationality.By virtue of the key role of scientific and technological evidence in judging product defects,it will be converted into the defense against the defect elements,which is not only in line with the principle of liability in the risk field,but also conductive to resolving the plight of practical identification of product defects in China.